Creating a log cabin, log house, or
an office or annex from logs usually has three stages:
• Design
• Planning approval
• Construction

Log Building Design

We will work with you to create a design for your log building that exactly
suits the purpose you have in mind. Although each of our buildings is
different, we have collected over 70 designs, and any of these could become
the basis for your own building. We know these designs work, so meeting
your requirements is made easier.

Good foundations prevent rising damp and the roof should keep water off
the walls, so our designs incorporate foundations and roofs that take
both location and use of your building into consideration. You can choose
just about any roofing material you like – tiles, tin, shingles,
thatch or even grass – as along as it keeps out the water and is
not made of asbestos.

Not all log building suppliers give you such freedom to express yourself!

Planning Approval

Once we have the design, depending on the size and use of your building,
you may need to obtain planning approval from your local authority. This
can be a very involved and time-consuming process, and some “log
cabin” suppliers do not help with this. We can advise you, and will
work closely with the planning department on your behalf so you don’t
have to be involved.

We always take care of construction for our clients. You can find log
cabins that you erect yourself, but we don’t expect you to be expert
builders, or to pick your way through building regulations. The traditional
building skills we use take time to perfect, and because we build to recognised
standards, your log house, log cabin, granny annex or home office will
be a quality building constructed to last.

We can also build using standard timber frame. Some buildings, such as
studios, home offices and games rooms, can be built with a timber frame
and sawn timber cladding – we build this way for clients who want
a wooden building but prefer this style to the traditional whole log.
Such buildings are all designed and constructed to individual requirements,
and therefore have a more stylish finish than similar, mass-produced buildings
often described as “log cabins”.

About our logs

We select each Scots or Corsican pine or Douglas fir log from managed
woodland, including The Forestry Commission. For each tree felled at least
one more is planted. Wherever possible we source trees locally to minimise
the impact on the environment in transporting them. We also conserve timber
– fewer trees are used to build with whole logs than are used in
similar buildings made of commercially sawn timber.

Our logs are felled by hand so as not to damage them, hand peeled and
then cut to fit snugly on the one below. We do not machine the timber
because this makes the logs uniform and gives the appearance of a building
made from telegraph poles.

The traditional way of building we use:

enhances the beauty of each individual piece of
timber, and gives the finishe product a unique and aesthetic finish.

creates buildings that are extremely solid. Unlike
log cabins made of flimsier material or less robust construction our
buildings will not warp, move or shift. Some of our logs can weigh
over half a tonne each!

produces thermally efficient buildings, so they
will keep your heating bills down in the winter, and provide you with
somewhere cool in the summer. You can also add insulation to floors
and roofs. See more about the properties of logs.

gives rooms an acoustic quality which enriches
sound, voices and music. Day-to-day clatter is muted as it does not
echo around as on plaster or thinly constructed walls, so your building
will remain a tranquil place in which to live or work.

exudes a natural aroma of sap and resin and gives
a pleasant background scent to your environment.

is an economical and environmentally friendly way
of creating or extending your home or work space

Planning
and building regulations

The Log House Company provides the information below in good
faith and as a guide only. We always advise checking with the individual
authority, as regulations may differ. Information is available from www.communities.gov.uk and from your local council.

Planning

Planning permission is generally not required if a building is for the
use of the occupants and classed as incidental to the enjoyment of the
main dwelling. If the purpose is intended for either business or accommodation,
advice should be sought. Most councils are very helpful and we advise
always checking with the local planners first. The Log House Company is
able to work on your behalf with the relevant authority, please note,
some costs may be incurred for this service.

“Permitted development” is the right to carry out certain
limited forms of development without the need to make an application for
planning permission as granted under the terms of the town and country
planning (general planning development) order 1995.

This means the building may be put in your garden without planning permission
as long as the following criteria are met:

The building is not in front of the building line,
or if it is, then no closer than 20m from the nearest Highway (highway
will include bridleway);

The building is at least 5m away from the dwelling
or any extension of the dwelling;

The height of the building must not exceed 4m to
the ridge (sometimes this may be 3m with a flat roof);

The dwelling is not a listed building in an area
of outstanding natural beauty (AONB), a conservation area, or has
any other restrictions upon it;

The total ground covered by all outbuildings must
not exceed 50% of the total area of the curtilage (excluding the ground
area of the original building).
In the above cases, you need confirmation from the local authority
to ensure permitted development applies.

Building
regulations

If the internal floor area exceeds 30m² or any part of the building
is within 1m of the boundary, then building regulations approval will
be required. If the building is to be temporary (not more than 28 days)
then no regulations apply.

The building regulations approval is needed for the structural calculations
in accordance with the department of the environment (DOE).

Mobile homes

A mobile home comes under the mobile home act of 1983 alongside the 1968
caravan act (living accommodation). A mobile home is for habitation, not
incidental use and restricted to 20 feet wide (increasing to 22 feet from
2007) and 60 feet long, excluding overhangs and verandahs. The building
must be moveable (i.e. mobile) and be delivered in no more than two parts.
A mobile home is excluded from V.A.T. and generally from building regulations
– but will require planning permission.

Land with a CLD (Certificate for Lawful Development) has a right for habitation
on that land.

If a building is assembled as opposed to constructed on site, then building
regulations are not normally required, the building is seen as "non
permanent".

Granny annex

A granny annex is a dwelling for a dependent family member and falls under
different criteria. A temporary or non-permanent structure is more favourably
looked upon by the planners and may be a lot easier than you think.

Properties of logs

Thermal properties of logs
Wood is one of the best building materials because of its strength
and resistance to transmitting heat or cold. The thermal efficiency
of wood can be measured in different ways, and its thermal properties
expressed as a value. Most pines offer thermal conductivity at an
average value of 0.9 to 1.5 W/m°C. This is the “R”
value. A one-inch thickness of our wood will have an “R”
value of 1.3 (rising to1.5 in certain conditions).

The "U" value is a measurement of thermal resistance. This
value is calculated by adding up the individual components’
“R” value, for example, the logs in a wall, and then finding
the reciprocal.

To make more sense, a material is given an "R" value, which
is an indication of resistance to heat flow of a specified thickness.
Materials with a high “R” value have superior insulating
qualities. Conversely, the lower the “U” value, the better
the thermal resistance.

Timber used by the Log House Company has an average “R”
value of between 1.3 and 2.1 per inch of thickness at 10% moisture
and 73°C temperature. The value will vary with moisture content,
density and temperature!

By using logs with a mean diameter of 16½ inches and insulating
floors and ceilings as well, The Log House Company can build to 0.35
U or better.

The strength of wood
Scots pine and Douglas fir have a modulas to rupture parallel to grain
of 14 and 17.5 MN/m², respectively and a shear strength of 1.5.
The durability largely depends on moisture content being below the
limit conducive to fungal attack.